


Many Happy Returns

by Mina Lightstar (ukefied)



Series: The Domesticity Arc [17]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Curtain Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-19
Updated: 2012-11-19
Packaged: 2017-11-19 01:29:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/567506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ukefied/pseuds/Mina%20Lightstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The relationship is tested.  ... No, like, for real this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Many Happy Returns

**Author's Note:**

> THE THRILLING CONCLUSION TO THE SERIES. Except not really. Thrilling, I mean. It IS the conclusion.
> 
> For Saaski, who kept me going in more ways than one over the years. Also, blue.

"Will you marry me?" she asks earnestly, blue eyes wide and full of hope.

"Sure," Kurapika replies, and turns the page in his book.

"Yay!" Asako cries, and says to her doll, "He's ... a ten-out-of-ten."

"Your appraisal is everything to me," Kurapika assures her. "I'll pick you up when you're eighteen."

She spends a moment counting on her fingers. "That's only thirteen more years!"

"Very good! I can't believe how intelligent you are, Asako. You're going to grow into a very prodigious young woman."

"What does 'pr-o-di-gi-ou-s' mean?"

"It means--"

The phone rings.

"Pardon me a moment, my lady -- hello?"

"Kurapika, _darling_ , how's my little angel doing?"

Kurapika grins at the brunette sitting on the floor. "She's just had lunch and is playing with Rumi. Are you back in the building?"

"Just got here," Asuka replies, and he can hear the elevator door opening in the background. "I should be on my floor in a couple of minutes."

"All right, I'll bring her to your door, then."

"Thanks, honey, see you in a minute."

When he hangs up, he exchanges pouting looks with Asako. "Time to go home."

"Aww, but I don't wanna. You have the _hugest_ TV." She picks up Rumi and pouts some more.

Kurapika chuckles and puts his book on the coffee table. "Come on, my lady. Let's get you home. Maybe you can come play during your mother's next appointment."

"O-kay," she sighs, resigned, and takes his hand as they leave Kurapika's shared condominium with Leorio.

Asuka lives two floors above them. Kurapika and Asako take the stairs because Asako likes skipping steps. After the first flight, they notice something interesting: Boxes stacked in various piles outside one the door to 607. The door itself is open, and movers are moving in and out, grabbing a box and bringing it inside.

"Wow," Asako whispers, "new neighbor?"

"Looks like it," Kurapika agrees, and eyes the dark-skinned businessman who steps out of the apartment to ask a pair of movers to take extra care with a box. The businessman looks in their direction, and Kurapika smiles before leading Asako up the next flight of stairs.

"Wow!" Asako exclaims once they're out of earshot. "Did you _see_ that guy? He's, like, an eleven-out-of-ten."

"Surpassed already," Kurapika laments sadly.

"Mama!" the five-year-old cries, and runs toward Asuka, who is jiggling her key into her lock.

"Angel!" Asuka greets her, bending down to sweep the girl off her feet. "Were you good for Kurapika-san?"

"She was an absolute angel," Kurapika assures her, with a wink for Asako. "And she's so smart; it's almost like speaking to an intellectual equal. I don't get that with Leorio," he adds.

Asuka laughs. "Now, I know you refused my money, but you have to let me do _something_ to thank you."

Kurapika is already moving away, waving. "If that's the case, have us over for tea. You have the best chai in the building."

"It's a _date_ ," Asuka says, and blows a kiss before ushering Asako inside. "I'll call you."

"Bye-bye!" Asako calls. "I love you!"

Kurapika waves again, and then turns away to head back home. He gets stopped once or twice on Asuka's floor by a couple of women who want to know how he's been, and what he thinks of their new bathing suits.

This -- baby-sitting, girl-talk, bathing suits and matching handbags -- isn't unusual. Kurapika is the Gay Best Friend to almost every woman in the building, which is kind of odd, because he isn't really gay. At least, he doesn't think he is. But looking at the girls in their bikinis doesn't make him think of anything but how Keiko's black hair accentuates the yellow swimsuit -- and Mika, honey, you might want to shave that bikini line.

He gets a text update from Yamada as he's walking, so he pulls out his phone to read it as he makes his way to the stairs. This causes an unexpected collision with someone who's just bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

"Oof," Kurapika says.

"Argh," the other person says.

Kurapika lifts his head and starts to apologize, but what he was about to say dies in his throat. This probably has something to do with how _blue_ the taller man's eyes are next to his _wonderful_ black onyx skin and how _sophisticated_ he looks in that Armani suit.

"... Hello," he says, and then he thinks he might be gay, because that is undoubtedly the _dumbest_ -sounding thing to ever come out of his mouth, and only being struck by the two-by-four of attraction could have made it happen.

"Excuse me," the man says, and his voice is deep and smooth, like, like _velvet_ , and Kurapika thinks he should stop making such descriptive observations about this _incredibly gorgeous man_ but he can't help it. He reads a lot, after all.

"No, I'm sorry," Kurapika insists, finding some of his wits. "I should have been watching where I was going."

"No, _I'm_ sorry," the taller man rubs the back of his _amazingly sexy_ bald head. "I shouldn't have been running." He laughs -- a rich, warm sound -- tips his head back, showing off a strong neck, and a tiny gold earring in his left ear sparkles when it catches the lights and _Am I in a porn scene? Because I swear I would totally turn around and let him--_ "What a way to greet my first neighbor."

"Oh," Kurapika interjects, waving a hand. "Don't be ridiculous. No harm done. Were you looking for something in particular?"

The man smiles; his teeth are flawless ivory. _Oh, STOP IT._ "I was looking for you, actually."

_Is this where the music starts?_ "Oh? What can I do for you?" he inquires, plastering on a polite smile.

"Well, I saw you coming up here, and since I'm new in the building and you seemed out and about, I wondered if I might trouble you for a tour and a drink?" He holds out a hand. "My name is Takai."

"Kurapika. Pleased to meet you." When they shake, Kurapika wonders if he'll spontaneously combust.

Takai asks, "Was that your little girl I saw before?"

Kurapika chuckles. "Oh, no, I was minding her for a while. Her mother is a friend. If you'd like a tour, best we start with the interesting parts of the complex. Those are on the ground floor."

"Sounds great, thank you." They fall into step beside each other, and take the stairs. "So, you don't live on this floor, then?"

"I'm in 512. I live with my -- boyfriend." The word comes out, but not without going over some kind of bump and he isn't sure why. Does he care if Takai is homophobic? Not really, because he doesn't care what those kinds of people think. Does he care if Takai knows he isn't single? Maybe. But why? It's not like they were flirting, or that Takai was even interested in men, let alone Kurapika -- and anyway, Kurapika is in love with Leorio, so why does any of that even matter?

"Hmm," Taktai replies, nodding. "Have you lived here long?"

"About five or six years now. It's a nice building, and perfectly situated downtown. What's your reason for moving here, if you don't mind my asking?"

Takai laughs half-heartedly. "Well, I was promoted, and my firm moved me to its head office."

"Congratulations!" Kurapika says.

Takai grins. "Why, thank you. The downside is my lover and I couldn't handle the distance. He broke up with me."

Kurapika winces. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Takai brushes the incident aside. "We parted on amicable terms, and we weren't that serious." He winks. "But now that I don't have such an eager young man to please, I have more time to spend with two of my most ardent lovers: Shakespeare and Eliot."

_This is my new best friend,_ Kurapika decides.

***

During sex, it isn't unusual for Kurapika to be vocal. Actually, he's usually steadily vocal, because he has this problem with shutting up. But tonight, he is _frighteningly_ vocal -- and insatiable. Twice Leorio fucks him hard into the mattress, from behind, so most of Kurapika's shouts are swallowed by the sheets -- and _still_ the blond wants more. At first, Leorio thinks he won't be able to do it, but Kurapika touches him just enough, just the right way, to coax his cock back to life, and before he knows it, they're doing it again -- faster, harder.

At one point, Leorio can't take the mystery anymore. He slows down, panting, and stares at the sweaty, flushed blond beneath him. Kurapika is panting heavily, one hand curled into the sheet, the other around Leorio's wrist. His eyes are closed, but he looks _different_ : Free, excited, _glowing_.

"Okay, you have to tell me."

Kurapika's expression scrunches up, and he asks, "What?"

Leorio tries to stop thrusting completely, but he can't. "What I'm doing so right tonight. You have to tell me so I can write it down and do it again." He punctuates this by slamming back in, loving the way Kurapika is moved by the force.

"You aren't doing anything," Kurapika admits breathlessly. He squirms, trying to get Leorio to go faster. "I'm pretending you're black."

"... Okay. Why?"

"Just because." He squirms some more. "Now, you're been putting in too many long hours at the hospital, and I'm feeling neglected. Are you going to fuck me or not?"

"What a stupid question," Leorio chides him, and starts moving again. When he brings them to climax for a third time, he feels like King of the World.

***

"King Lear was obviously nothing more than a fragile old man clothed in the illusion of authority and power," Takai concludes, sipping his latte.

"Indeed," Kurapika agrees, still in awe that someone else had analyzed Lear as he had. "He held on to the dredges of it he had left -- all for naught, of course. It was such a masterful play." He frowns. "I'd like to see it performed again someday. The lines are easier to analyze on paper, but emotion depends on the delivery of the actors."

"If it's playing anywhere close by, we should definitely go together." Takai smiles at him, and it takes all Kurapika has not to melt into some puddle of pathetic crushing schoolboy.

"I'd love to." He checks his watch. "Ah, I'd better be going. I still have errands to run." He shakes his head. "You'd think I'd be _less_ busy on this three-month sabbatical."

"Maybe we are so accustomed to cramming as much as we can into a day that we do it out of habit on days we need do nothing at all." Takai puts a bill on the table. "My treat," he adds. "You want company on these errands? I have nothing to do today, and these vacation days aren't filling themselves."

"Sure," Kurapika accepts, "that would be wonderful."

***

When Killua comes home from work, he finds Gon sitting on the couch watching television. "I'm home."

"Welcome back!" Gon chirps, and jumps over the back of the sofa to plant a sloppy kiss on his mouth. "How was your day?"

"A little unusual at the end," he admits. "Gon, do you know anything about Kurapika going somewhere with a really good-looking stranger?"

Gon looks perplexed. "He didn't say anything to me. I didn't even know he was going out today."

Killua wonders if he's making too big a deal out of this, but he was trained to be observant and see the unseen, and what he saw struck him as odd. "Oh, because this good-looking stranger and Kurapika walked out of the ground floor café together and Kurapika mentioned taking his car, and I just find the whole thing a little strange, because we haven't even met this guy but him and Kurapika looked very comfortable together."

"Killua," Gon growls warningly, "just what are you implying?"

Killua backs off a little, because Gon has always believed in the loyalty of their tight-knit foursome. "I'm not implying anything, Gon. All right?"

"All right," Gon concedes, and relaxes.

***

It's getting ridiculous. He knows fantasy is healthy, but it really is getting ridiculous. He hopes to any god who listens that he doesn't talk in his sleep, because virtually every encounter he's had with Takai takes an erotic turn in his dreams: Their first meeting, Takai shoves him against the wall and has his way with him; their coffee dates, Takai shoves the china to the floor and fucks him on the table; at the movie, he goes down on Takai in the darkness, and while he doesn't believe that _all_ black men have something to brag about, Takai certainly does.

It's really getting ridiculous. So ridiculous, when Kurapika wakes up one morning, his brain dryly suggests, _Why don't you just throw yourself at him and get it over with? Then your curiosity will be satisfied._

He tells his brain to shut up.

"I hope I was in that dream," Leorio's sleepy voice slurs. One of the doctor's arms snakes around him. "It sounded hot."

_Oh, hell._ "Um, who else would be?" he asks slyly, figuring that was a safe answer.

"Mmmm," Leorio mumbles, and moves closer, pressing his morning erection against Kurapika's bottom and planting sloppy kisses across his shoulders: Classic morning sex initiation by one Doctor Leorio.

Kurapika is forcing himself to think of nothing but Leorio when he catches a glimpse of the clock. "Oh, no." He reluctantly pulls away, apologizing, "Sorry, I'm meeting a friend, and if I want to get a shower in, it has to be now." And he really does need a shower.

"Fine, abandon the passion of our bed," Leorio mumbles good-naturedly.

Kurapika laughs, and bounds to the bathroom.

***

Killua isn't spying. He really isn't. He just happens to be going upstairs to see if Leorio wants to get lunch and head to Come-Come, and he just happens to notice Kurapika going upstairs to the sixth floor, and he _just happens_ to follow at a distance.

Then he _just happens_ to see Kurapika knock on the door to 607, and _just happens_ to see a wet, naked good-looking stranger answer the door in a towel.

And he _just happens_ to turn back around and retreat.

***

Kurapika manages not to yelp. He squeaks, though, and is probably blushing. "Oh, excuse me...."

Takai makes a soothing motion with one hand, and is holding his crisp, white towel in the other. "No, no, I'm terribly sorry. I was enjoying my shower so much, I didn't notice the time."

_Oh, god,_ Kurapika thinks, as his imagination immediately conjures a response to that.

"Come in, come in, I'll only be a moment."

He manages to walk by the dripping wet Takai without latching onto him to lick the water from his chest -- but just barely. _What is wrong with me?_ When the door shuts, Kurapika feels trapped, but that doesn't make any sense.

"I'll go get some clothes on," Takai says with a wink.

"Mm," Kurapika murmurs in agreement, hoping he isn't _openly_ admiring the hard planes of chiseled muscle that make up Takai's body -- _Oh, there I go again._ Suddenly, gleaming gold catches his eye, and his gaze focuses on the tiny gold ring in Takai's right nipple. "Ouch," he says reflexively, crossing his arms. "Didn't that hurt?"

Takai glances down. "Oh," he chuckles, "not as much as getting your tongue pierced, according to my ex."

"It's kind of..." Kurapika trails off, reaching out despite himself.

"You can touch it. It won't hurt."

"You're sure?" Even as he asks, he's poking it gingerly with his index finger. "Wow." He takes a step closer to inspect, and when he looks up, it's right into Takai's blue eyes. "... Er."

And then his wrist is encircled by Takai's hand, and he's shaking a little, fighting one of the hardest inner conflicts he's ever had to face, and Takai takes a step forward.

Kurapika takes a step back, and something squeaks and bites his sock. "What--? Oh, hi, kitty. Sorry about that."

And the moment passes. "Pokey," Takai scolds. "You should know better than to get under people's feet." He shakes his head. "I'll go get dressed. Make yourself at home."

_I almost just did,_ Kurapika realizes.

***

Leorio is guzzling coffee when there is a knock on the door. Wondering who it could be at this pre-work hour, he opens the door while yawning hugely.

"Morning, uncle," Killua says. "I'd like to know if you're aware we have a new neighbor."

Leorio pauses to think, mid-yawn. "Nope, didn't know that. I'll have to introduce myself sometime."

"You mean Kurapika hasn't introduced you to him?"

Now Leorio is puzzled. "No, why? Kurapika knows him?"

"Actually, Kurapika appears to know him quite well. Enough that he doesn't seem to mind going straight in when this stranger answers his door naked."

"... Okay," Leorio says. "But I don't quite see how this is cause for concern, if they're just friends. I trust Kurapika."

Killua nods. "Oh, I'm not suggesting it's _Kurapika_ you should be worrying about. I'm just letting you know, because weird relationship shit happens in situations like this, and the fact that Kurapika hasn't told you about him, but is spending a lot of time with him... you know."

Leorio is starting to get unnecessarily annoyed now. "All right, all right. Who is this guy, anyway?"

Killua shrugs and prepares to leave. "I don't know his name, but he lives in 607. Just look for the sexy black man." He waves and takes off for work.

Leorio waves back and shuts the door. He is in the bedroom picking out a tie when it finally hits him.

"SEXY BLACK MAN?!"

***

When Gon answers his door, a desperate, frazzled Kurapika is on the other side. "Are you alone?" he demands.

"Yes, why?" Gon ushers him in and shuts the door.

"I," Kurapika starts, and stops. "I," he tries again.

Gon holds his arms out. "Do you need a hug?"

"... Yes."

Later, they are sitting on the couch and Gon is patting his friend's shoulder. "Fantasy is healthy, though," he soothes.

"But this is beyond fantasy," Kurapika explains. "This is practically every minute of every day. This morning I turned down sex with Leorio to go and hang out with the object of my 'healthy' fantasy. Is that normal? Isn't that weird? I dream about him. I, I -- you know -- thinking about him. I pretend Leorio _is_ him. I almost let him kiss me. Gon," he pleads, grabbing the younger's hand in a tight grip, "what do I do? How do I make it stop?"

Gon considers it. "Do you like him as a person?"

Kurapika looks confused. "Of course I do. We're so alike, it's uncanny. We love the classics, and poetry, and theatre, and we get along wonderfully. I like him perfectly well as a friend, I just... Gon, have you _seen_ him? Oh, I definitely lust after him."

"And Leorio?"

Confusion melts into wistfulness. "Oh, I could never leave Leorio. He's my best friend, he's seen me at my best and at my very worst, I love him like -- I can't even describe how much I love him." He sniffs, "Besides, we have way too much invested in one another to quit now."

Gon shrugs. "Then what's the problem? You love Leorio, you didn't kiss Takai, you seem to know that your attraction for Takai sexually isn't related to your attraction to his friendship. I think you just talked through your own problem."

Kurapika doesn't look convinced. "But what about the sex part? If I'm having sex with Leorio imagining he's someone else, isn't that cheating, sort of?"

Gon scratches his head. "This is getting complicated. Why don't you try talking about this to Takai? Maybe if you openly address your mutual attraction, you can sort it all out and things will fix themselves?" He pauses, and then laughs, "Ha, I sound like you."

Kurapika considers it. "You're right, Gon. I should talk to him. We -- we shouldn't let this fester between us, or it'll be more of a problem later." He smiles, looking better than he did when he came in. "Thank you, Gon."

"Anytime," Gon snickers. "I owe you a few."

***

Leorio now understands what it's like "to see red." It all makes sense now: The fact that Kurapika is out all the time, the fact that Kurapika hasn't told him about this new neighbor, the fact that Kurapika begs him in bed -- more, more, harder, _harder_ \-- all of it makes sense.

This sexy black man is just lucky that Leorio is a doctor -- and he will be able to treat all the broken bones he is going to give him.

607 faces him. He can hear lounge music playing inside, and he imagines this perfectly chiseled man in a rich, elaborate living room, fucking _his_ Kurapika on a fucking _million-dollar couch._

He bangs so loud, he's surprised he doesn't break the wood.

He's less surprised when, at the sight of this new neighbor who answers the door topless with low-riding track pants and it should be _illegal_ to look that hot, he can no longer contain himself, and punches the man so hard, he flies backward onto the floor.

Leorio watches the other man recover, breathing heavily in the doorway. Kurapika does not rush to the door to see what the commotion is about, so Leorio figures he either A) has been fucked so hard he passed out; B) has escaped Leorio's wrath through the window; or C) is already back home.

"... Okay," the downed man concedes. "Mind telling me what I did to deserve that?"

He's not sure why he says it. Kurapika is a grown man, stubborn, makes his own decisions. But Leorio says it anyway: "Stay away from Kurapika."

The other man stands up, slowly, holding his cheek. "You must be Leorio."

"Yeah. How nice that he mentioned _me._ "

"Whoa," he raises his hands in defense. "I think you've got the wrong idea."

"I won't say it again. Stay away from him." And with that, Leorio turns around and stalks out. He doesn't go home, though. He needs to think. He's on his way to the garage when he passes Gon and Killua, who are coming back from wherever.

"What happened?" Gon wonders, probably catching the look on his face.

"I decked the new guy," he admits.

"What?!" Gon exclaims.

"The new neighbor," Killua explains. "He was making the moves on Kurapika, so I told Leorio."

"What?!" Gon exclaims.

"I was so pissed," Leorio confesses, coming down from his adrenaline high. "The thought of him -- to Kurapika -- only _I_ can do those things. So I gave it to him."

"What?!" Gon exclaims.

"Good job," Killua commends. "Sometimes, you have to be possessive and show people what's yours."

"You IDIOT!" Gon shouts, whacking Killua on the back of the head. "And you're a BIGGER idiot!" He pokes Leorio in the ribs. "Maybe you should _talk_ to Kurapika before you go around hitting his friends! If you had, maybe you would know that Kurapika is a guilty mess right now, because he thinks Takai is super-hot but he's in love with _you_ ," he makes a face, "though sometimes, I don't know why, and he feels like he's cheating on you even though he really isn't, and he was going to talk to Takai so they don't ruin their friendship over something stupid like attraction, which never really gives a good reason for itself _anyway_ , and he hopes that talking about it will make it stop, because he wants to think of YOU and not super-hot Takai, but you two kind of screwed this up, didn't you?!"

Leorio and Killua exchange horrified looks, because Gon has never yelled at them like this before.

"Um, wow, Gon," Killua attempts. "I, I'm real sorry."

"Fuck," Leorio swears.

***

When Kurapika knocks on Takai's door, a muffled "Come in" is heard. He braces himself, and opens the door. The apartment is dark, save for some low lighting in the living room, and he narrowly avoids Pokey as he makes his way to the couch.

_A Midsummer Night's Dream_ is playing on television. Kurapika glances at the play before noticing the cold compress on Takai's face. "What happened?"

"Your boyfriend."

"Leorio?" Kurapika blinks, sits down next to Takai's prone form. "But--"

"I'm trying to stave off heavy swelling tomorrow." Takai sits up and sets the compress aside. "He hit me because he thought I was having an affair with you."

Guilt twists painfully into his stomach. "Oh, Takai, I am so sorry. I -- I didn't mean for any of this to happen, and it's all my fault. Here, let me see that." He scoots closer, and gingerly feels the bump beginning to form.

"I don't like being hit for things I didn't do," Takai tells him, taking hold of his wrist.

"Of course not. I'll talk to Leorio. I just--" he cuts off when Takai's other hand cups his cheek.

"I don't like being hit for things I _didn't_ do," Takai repeats.

On the television, the four lovers are chasing each other. Kurapika feels uneasy.

"So," Takai comes closer, and he's _amazing_ and smells _so good_ and he _isn't wearing a shirt_ , "since I already got hit for it...."

And then his lips are on Kurapika's, and Kurapika is stunned still for a moment. Takai takes this as encouragement, because he moves again, pushing Kurapika back into the cushions. At this point, Kurapika gets his bearings, and discovers that, fantasize all he had, now that it is _happening_ , he doesn't want it to.

He struggles, but Takai is too engrossed in the would-be kiss that he doesn't listen. Instead, he settles down upon Kurapika, and one hand plays at the button of Kurapika's jeans.

It's reflex; Takai is probably stronger, but Kurapika knows how to fight. When he feels the taller man's fingers loosening his button, he reacts: Kicking him off onto the carpet so hard, he rolls a few times.

"Oh!" he cries as he sits up and straightens his shirt. "Sorry! I didn't really mean to do that."

"You're both dangerous," Takai grumbles. He rearranges himself onto his knees, stares at the carpet for a few minutes, and then confesses, "Is now a good time to say how much I value our friendship, and I've been an idiot, and I know you love Leorio, and please forgive me?"

Kurapika can't help it: He laughs. "Only if we promise to never, ever do that again. And only if you forgive _me_. I've been having some... ah, questionable thoughts, too."

Takai sighs. "I know what you mean. I couldn't help it. We have so much in common, and, well," he winks, "you're the prettiest guy in the building. Surely you've noticed."

"Stop it," Kurapika snickers. "Have you _looked_ in a mirror recently?" He sits back against the couch and motions for Takai to join him. "If we've cleared up our mutual attraction mishap and agreed to never act on it because it would be a huge mistake, we can catch the rest of this play."

Takai sits at the other armrest. " _Macbeth_ is on after this, if you'd like to watch that, too."

"Wouldn't miss it."

***

It's past one o'clock when Kurapika finally comes home. He isn't surprised when Leorio is waiting for him, obviously trying to look like he _hasn't_ been waiting for him, and failing miserably. (His book is upside-down.)

"I'm home," he says, tone clipped, testing the waters.

"Welcome back." Leorio sets his book down. "Mind if I ask where you've been?"

"At Takai's, watching Shakespeare. I noticed you felt the need to punch him in the face."

"I noticed you felt the need to pretend I was him when we had sex."

He'd been prepared with retorts for anything but that. It twists that knife of guilt again, and he avoids Leorio's gaze. "I'm sorry," he says quietly. "There was no real reason for it, but I couldn't help it. I love you," he adds, something they don't really say in all seriousness outside of bed, and rebounds from it with, "I'm going to take a shower. Don't wait up."

Under the water -- which is practically as hot as it will go, because he wants the steam to blanket everything -- he wonders what this will change. If it will change anything. He had the sexiest man alive try to seduce him, and after days of fantasizing about _just that_ , he discovers he doesn't want it. Leorio wants him enough to fly off the handle and attack a man for even _thinking_ of flirting with him. He wants Leorio enough to turn down the sexiest man alive.

He always wants Leorio. Stupid, brash Leorio, who has mid-life crises when he's barely lived a quarter-century, who has to be reminded to do his laundry, who drives him absolutely crazy -- who has seen him at his absolute worst, and loves him, anyway.

The shower curtain rings make a horrible sound when it's pulled aside, and Kurapika goes, "YAAAAH!"

"I need a shower, too," a very naked Leorio says, and he steps in. "Jesus, why the hell is it so hot in here?"

"Don't _ever_ do that to me again," Kurapika snaps.

"Yeah, yeah -- hey," concern, "are you crying?"

" _No,_ " he snaps again, and turns away. This turns out to be a mistake, because the next moment, he's been shoved against the cool tiles, Leorio's hot body keeping him prisoner. He can feel Leorio's erection, and he's reacting to it even as one of Leorio's hands reaches around to tease him, and he yelps when Leorio's teeth sink hard into his shoulder.

"I don't like the idea of you pretending I'm someone else all the time," Leorio informs him. He slides himself along Kurapika's bottom. He's not inside, but the implication is clear.

"I imagine you don't," Kurapika agrees. He mouths a tile, because he has to do something, and he's afraid to move his hands, since Leorio obviously wants total control here.

"So, I think," he pushes against Kurapika, hard, and bites his ear before speaking directly into it, "I think I'm just going to have to fuck Takai right out of you, if it takes all night."

And then Kurapika does move his hands, but it's only so they can claw at the tiles. "... Okay."

***

It's past five when they finally get to bed. What started in the shower moved to the bathroom floor, to the couch, to the kitchen for coffee -- which was never made because they were sidetracked on the table -- back to the living room, and finally to the bedroom.

They're asleep almost as soon as they come down from their final orgasms. Kurapika dreams of when he and Leorio first met, on a ship leaving Whale Island, and Leorio joins him in his hammock.

 

{ END }

**Author's Note:**

> Arc officially completed, June 4th, 2007. I always meant to write a similar conclusion for KiruGon, but it never happened.


End file.
